Kenichi Shinoda

Kenichi Shinoda (6 May 1942-) was the boss of the Yamaguchi-gumi yakuza organization of Japan.

Biography
Kenichi Shinoda was born on 6 May 1942 in Oita Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan. In 1962, he joined the Hirota-gumi affiliate of the Yamaguchi-gumi yakuza, and he cofounded the Kodo-kai with Kiyoshi Takayama in 1984 as the successor to the Hirota-gumi gang. The Kodo-kai established branches in 18 prefectures, even expanding into the Kanto region, which was not Yamaguchi turf. From 1985 to 1989, he fought the rival Ichiwa-kai gang, forcing it to disband in 1989.

On 29 July 2005, he succeeded Yoshinori Watanabe as the new boss of the Yamaguchi-gumi, making him the most powerful crime boss in Japan. His expansion into Tokyo, traditionally not Yamaguchi-gumi turf, put him on the fast track to conflict with the rival Kanto-Hatsukakai federation of yakuza gangs (including the Inagawa-kai and Sumiyoshi-kai gangs). On 4 December 2005, he was sentenced to six years in prison for gun possession, and he was released on 9 April 2011, eight months early.